Aerial advertising and apparatus



May 10, 1932' E. UDET 1,857,415

AERIAL ADVERTISING AND APPARATUS Filed May 19, 1928 i' atenteti May id,1932 umrro s'rA'rEs PATENT OFFICE ERNST UDET, OF BERLIN, GERMANY,ASSIGNOR TO THE FIRM: UDET-SCHLEPPSCHRIFT GIESELLSCHAFT MITBESCHRANKTEB.HAFTUNG, OF BERLIN, GERMANY AERIAL ADVERTISING ANDAPPARATUS Application filed May 19, 1928, Serial No. 279,087, and inGerniany June 1, 1927.

the sky as a background, the sheet being one which is in no waystiffened by framework.

According to my invention the sheets are lowered, substantiallyvertically, and are carried in this state, instead of streaming out tothe rear in the manner of banners, as was heretofore usual.

This method of display is to a large extent independent of atmosphericconditions, and

5 even of the time of day, as the advertisements can be made luminous,or can be illuminated.

The aircraft is able to traverse a very large area with theadvertisements, and the an nouncements on the sheets can be made ofpractically any desired size allowed by the area of the sheets, whichare kept Well extended or spread while the machine is travelling. Thecable carrying the sheet or sheets can, if desired, be lowered to withina comparatively short distance of the earth without requiring themachine to descend below a safe altitude. The advertisements areprominently and strikingly displayed in the field of view ofpedestrians, and an extraordinarily large field of display is obtainableby causing the machine to travel in a spiral path. Legibility is notadversely affected by strong sunlight, or by rolling or banking of themachine, and the optical effect is very striking, as the advertisementappears to the casual observer to be floating freely, without connectionto the remote machine.

The advertisements can be easily changed, by changing the sheet orsheets, and this can be done either on the ground or in the air. This isa feature rendering the invention use ful for certain signallingpurposes, as for example for signalling between aircraft flying insquadrons. No particular training is required for this method ofadvertisement or signal display, neither is it necessary to use anyparticular type of aircraft, or special appliances on the aircraft,except perhaps a winch or its equivalent, for dealing with the cable. Ithas been strikingly demonstrated that the amount of power required fordrag-' ging the cable is small, so there is generally no need for usingspecially powerful machines. The advertisement appliances required arenot expensive, and are not subjected to excessive wear.

I am aware that it has heretofore been proposed to use kite and balloonsfor displaying advertisements in or on stiff frames suspended therefrom,for example advertisements in opaque characters on netting withinframes. It has also been proposed to attach an advertisement flag to aframe fixed above or behind the elevator of an aeroplane, in thepropeller stream, where of course the size of the advertisement isstrictly limited, and the same can only be dis layed at the altitude atwhich the machine fiies.

The invention is illustrated in the annexed drawings in which Fig. 1represents diagrammatically an aircraft in flight, with an advertisementcomposed of two characters suspended therefrom according to our method.Fig. 2 is a View illustrating the effect of this advertising method,when viewed from a distance, the advertisement displayed in this casebeing the word Lux.

In Fig. l, 1 represents an aeroplane, from which a cable 2 is suspended,the point of at tachment of the cable being near the center of gravity,and the cable being preferably sufficiently thin to be practicallyinvisible against the sky, from a distance. At the lower end of thecable there is a stream-lined weight 3 serving as a loading meanstherefor. To the cable 2 there are attached the left hand edges of twoadvertisement sheets 4, 5, one above the other, these sheets being forexample of network or gauze, Without any stiffening which prevents theirfolding or furling. The advertisement characters 6, maybe painted on thesheets, or may be made separately, and be attached to the sheets by anyconvenient means. It will of course be understood that characters ordesigns of any kind may thus be displayed. We may use luminous paint orcomposition for the advertisements, so that they are visible at nightwithout requiring illumination by a search- 55 the cable, said cablebeing adapted to be freelight or other means. On the aeroplane there isa Winch 7 for the cable.

The machine takes off with the cable wound on the winch drum, togetherwith the foldable sheets 4, 5. At a suitable altitude the weight 3 iscast off, and the cable lowered, the sheets 4, 5 being in due courseunfolded, and spreading out aft. The netting or gauze is invisible at adistance, against the sky, so that the characters appear-to be floatingfree ly in the atmosphere, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

Instead of an aeroplane I may use a motordriven airship.

What I claim is:

1. The method of aerial advertising which consists in suspending frommotor driven aircrafta substantially vertical disposed cable device witha flexible and readily furlable sheet bearing visible announcing oradvertising material and attached along one .edge to said device andtowing the same through the air at sufficient speed to cause theunfolding and extension of the sheet by the airstream for exhibiting thevisible announcements in a vertical plane.

The method of aerial advertising which consists in supporting from motordriven aircraft with a substantial clearance and in a vertical plane aflexible furlable sheet hearing advertisement or announcement materialthereon which is visible when the sheet is extended and towing the samethrough the air at sufiicient speed relatively to the air to cause theunfolding and extension of the vertical sheet by the airstream and thedisplay of said advertisement or announcement material. 3. An apparatusfor aerial advertising including a cable reel attached to a motor drivenaircraft and one elongated cable, a weight on the free end of the cable,said cable being adapted to be vertically suspended from the craft, aflexiblesheet of extensive area attached to the cable along one edge andadapted to be readily folded or furled, said sheet bearing announcementor advertisement material which is visible when the sheet is extended sothat with the cable unreeled during movement of the craft through theair the sheet is automatically extended and spread out by the airstreamin a vertical plane and the announcement or advertisement materialdisplayed.

4. An apparatus for aerial advertising in cluding a motor drivenaircraft having a cable device with a weight on the free end of ly letout in a vertical plane and pulled in and an extended surface of softand unstifl'- ened sheet material fixed to the cable device only at oneedge thereof-and adapted to be readily folded or furled, said surfacebearing advertisement or announcement material in contrast with thesurface itself whereby with the weighted cable let out from the craftand the same towed through the air at sufficient speed relatively to theair said surface is caused to be unfolded and spread out by theairstream in a vertical plane for exhibition of the advertisements orannouncements thereon.

5. An apparatus of the character set forth in claim 3 wherein there areat least two sheets which are fixed to the cable device in spacedrelation, each of said sheets bearing a part of the announcement oradvertisement.

6. An apparatus of the character set forth in claim 3 wherein the sheetbearing the announcement or advertisement material is transparent whilethe letters or characters of the announcement or advertising materialare luminous.

7. An apparatus-of the character set forth in claim 4 wherein the sheetbearing the advertisement or announcement material is of transparentcharacter and the latter is opaque.

' 8. In combination, a motor driven aircraft, a cable adapted to belowered from the said aircraft means connecting the cable with theaircraft, a loading means suspended at the free end of the said cable, asoft, foldable fabric of large surface having only one edge attached tothe cable and adapted to be unfolded in the airstream in a verticalplane when lowered from the aircraft, said fabric being essentiallyinvisible when seen at a distance against the horizon, but carrying aneasily distinguished character which does not disturb the folding orunfolding of the fabric surface.

9. Apparatus for aerial advertising, consisting of a motor drivenaeroplane, a long supporting cable with one end connected with theaircraft and its other end carrying a load-weight, a soft and foldablefabric of large surface being attached at only one edge to the cableabove the load, the cable and fab- 'ric being adapted to be lowered fromor retracted into the aircraft and adapted to be towed through the airin a vertical plane from the aircraft, the fabric surface carryingletters or characters that do not disturb the retraction into thefuselage of the fabric, said letters being distinctly readable whilesaid fabric is floating through the air in an unfolded condition and ata considerable distance from the aircraft.

10. An apparatus of the character set forth in claim 8 wherein the softfoldable fabric hearing the letters or characters consists of a finenetwork of gauze and the letters or characters are formed ofindependently made opaque material attached thereto.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

ERNST UDET.

